Liturgy Alive Friday, June 19, 2015

Friday, June 19, 2015

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
you are the origin and purpose of all,
the meaning of our existence
and the goal of all we do.
We pray today:
draw us out of our little self-created worlds
and open us to you and your kingdom.
Be yourself the precious pearl of our lives
and let each person around us be
the oyster shell in which we find that pearl.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord

First Reading Introduction: In defending his ministry, Paul boasts of all he has done and suffered in the service of the Gospel of the young Christian communities. These sufferings affect and hurt him, for they bring out his human frailty. But he goes on single-mindedly, because God is his strength and his treasure, the light brightening his whole being.

Gospel Reading Introduction: What are the things that preoccupy us, that are constantly on our minds? The answer to this question will indicate what our values are, “where our heart is.” For many high-minded and dedicated Christians, these values will rarely be as crude as mere pleasure seeking and a hunger for material wealth and comfort, though these too, are not always ruled out completely. But what about the ambition for power and promotion, the tendency to dominate others and to shape others in our own image and likeness rather than God’s? What about making ourselves the center of the world? Where do we look for “the one thing necessary?”

General Intercessions

– For those who worry much about money, that they may learn to be concerned about those who lack the bare essentials, we pray:
– For those who have become the victims of greed and intolerance, that good people may restore their faith in God and humankind, we pray:
– For all of us, that we may be grateful that God has given us faith in him and in his love and mercy, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
you let us gather around the table
of your Son, Jesus Christ.
The Eucharist is for us
a great and precious treasure.
Let us appreciate Jesus’ presence
and let it always enrich us
with a deep sense of his nearness.
Let us learn from him
to be present to one another.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God,
from the words and the presence of Jesus,
we learn that nothing is more precious
than your love for us
and the kingdom you want to build with us.
Be our joy and our treasure.
We thank you that you have found us.
Let us always keep finding you
in the different ways you manifest yourself,
in the goodness of people
and in the treasures of our faith.
Thank you through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Blessing

Our prayer and our whole worship is a service of God and neighbor, not service of oneself in the sense of showing off and boasting of what we do for God and neighbor. That is worship in spirit and truth. May God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.